Use Your Grill

When it's too hot to turn on the oven, prep a week of proteins and vegetables on your barbecue, suggests paleo-friendly food blogger Alexis Kornblum, author of Lexi's Clean Kitchen. (And if you're planning a cookout over the weekend, throw extras on the grill and you'll save yourself some time.) Break out of the chicken/burger/sliced vegetable box and try some of these surprising foods to grill.

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Prep Raw Food

Spend just a few minutes spiralizing zucchinis and blending up a basil pesto and you'll have the base ingredients of pesto zucchini noodles ready to go, says spiralizing pro and food blogger Ali Maffucci, author of Inspiralize Everything. Add different no-cook toppings (like canned corn, chopped tomato, or beans) throughout the week to mix it up. For more ideas, check out these 7 creative combinations for spiralized vegetables.

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Bust Out Your Slow Cooker

You might think of slow cooker recipes as winter fare, but the appliance is actually ideal for summer cooking since it doesn't heat up the whole house and you aren't trapped indoors waiting for food to cook. Blogger Beth Moncel of Budget Bytes suggests making a large batch of shredded meat to store or freeze in smaller portions, or even cooking sweet potatoes in your slow cooker.

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Make Some Hard Boiled Eggs

They're a great base to a wide range of healthy meals and snacks that can be served cold. Maffucci suggests making egg salad, which is full of protein and can be eaten over lettuce, on bread, or in a collard wrap. Try the "enlightened egg salad pita" from our healthy sandwich makeovers.